Iron County register., 1887-12-22
TWO SMART SMITHS.
A Couple of Government Officers W
Have Proved Invaluable.

A Couple of Government Officers Who
/ Have Proved Invaluable.
/ A curiosity of life at the capital is a
short chubby, round-faced gentleman
sitting at the end of the line of clerks
directly in front of the Speaker desk.
He is one of the best parliamentarians
in the country-in fact, parliamen-
/ tary sharp" His nams is Smith
Harry Smith You may recognize
him at once by habit he has of grasp.
ing u large black mustache with his
hand, looking nervously around at the
presiding officer. and then gazing
calmly upon the seething flow of con-
gressiona1 eloquence and wisdom be-
low him. Mr. Smith came in with the
Forty first congress, ard holds the
position of journal clerk. F" l have
! no doubt that he can retain 1t as long
! as he chooses. He has made n place
! of his own, and it is no idle statement
] to say that there is not man in the
coun try to-day who could fill it, should
he retire. The ebb of the Republican
and the flow of the Democratic majori-
ties sweep other. officials out into the
cold, cold world. Mr.. Smith alone
remains an unconcerned observer of
the flights Of factions and the bitter
controversies of parties. No one has
ever been able to ascertain whether he
: is Republican or Democrat.
Mr. Smith is retained in his position
! to prompt the Speaker on all questions
of parliamentary law and practice.
In the midst of Il sguabble, while both
sides are doing their best to carry a
point. the Speaker may lose his head.
and in the scores of precedents thrown
at him may. for the moment. be thor
! oughly 'rattled." 1t is then that Mr..
Smith proves himself master of tic
situation. Selling his manual. he
rapidly turns to the exact place which
will solve the question beyond the
/ shadow of n doubt Thus armed the
Speaker almost always succeeds with
the array of rules and practices fur
nished by Mr. Smith. in tumbling over
or demolishing all the pretty structures
/ of mingled fancy and logic which the
members have been building about
Smiths Judgment and knowledge a.
most implicitly, as did his predecessor.
/ and it is probable that a portion of
/ the long line of Speakers to come will
do the same thing. whether they be
Republicans or Democrats. Mr.. Smith
is a native of New York, but his pres
ent home is in Michigan. He served
/ with distinction during the war in one
of the Mi ichigan regiments, but no body
addresses him as Colonel" He is
simple Harry Smith to his friends,
and of the latter there are legions. Mr..
Smith has, since the above was put in
! type, felt the edge of the headsm an s
axe.
/ Still another Smith is he who occu.
pies place in the document room of
the Senate. and is known as The man
with the phenomenal memory. He
can tell from memory the volume in
which any bill or resolution passed by
/ Congress may be found. H, scarcely
! ever refers to his index, and then only
when minor cases of q private nature
are inquired after. Truly wonderful
gift; natural OF acquired. he has never
| troubled himself to find out. There he
sits in the Senate document room, day
after day, surrounded on every side by
countless bills and resolutions which
| aspiring statesmen have launched on
| both houses since the very earliest
days 1t is repository, not of what
i Congress has done, but of what the
| innumerable caravan of wise men and
! cranks wanted to do-for Smith keeps
! record of the bills, regardless of
| their legislative fate. OF course, they
are carefully indexed by names and
! subjects. but Smiths memory does
not need this crutch. The Solons. in
+ preparing bills and reports. are
always anxious to know if any steps
! have heretofore been taken in the same
direction. They always 60 to Smith
to find out. and they never 60 away
without obtaining the desired informa-
! ton.
! There is n tradition among older
newspaper men that Smith was sud-
denly taken sick some ten years ago,
and that the trouble soon assumed the
shape of fever, and attacked his
head. The solicitous Senators insist
ed on daily reports of his condition
! from the quiet little country house q
! few miles from Washington. For
many days. as the disease gained on
him. it seemed dubious for Smith and
his cyclopedic brain, and CORES pond
ingly for the public men who depend
ed upon his ready stock of knowledge.
But the clouds broke at last, and he
/ began slowly to mend. 1t was a
balmy morning in May when Amzi re-
! turned to his old desk, and among the
! first to test the brain of the GONZALES
! cent man was Senator Window.
"Amzi," he said, sis there any docu-
ment which will give me any informa-
/ ton as to the Mendocino Indian res
ervationP'
| Amzi squinted at the ceiling few
seconds longer than usual, pulled
meditatively the front lock of his hair,
while his assistants gathered about
him in sympathetic suspense. and then
suddenly, as if catching the spirit of
revival borne in through the windows
on the b.ossom-laden air, broke out
with:
''Why. yes; it was in the Foriieth
Congress. second session. And Think
you will find it in Vol L of House
Miscellaneous Documents. No. 145.
A search for the document proved
/ the correctness of Amzi's statement.
1borol, noa,.iy fon UaopS haI paSsoH